In the spring of 1992, he fled alongside his family to germany as a refugee of the bosnian war stanisic has written an acclaimed novel in german which was published in english under the. How the soldier repairs the gramophone 1st edition by sasa stanisic, anthea bell translator, sasa stanisic hardcover, 304 pages, published 2008. Sasa stanisic, born in visegrad in bosniaherzegovina in 1978, came to germany when he was fourteen. Serbian refugees fleeing bosnia picturealliancedpad. Neighbors, friends, and family past and present take on a mythic quality. A fresh, poignant and very funny novel about a young child caught up in the bosnian conflict. Sasa stanisic, who grew up in bosniaherzegovina and germany, writes regional novels of an unusual kind. He studied at the deutsches literaturinstitut in leipzig. You cant go home again, is much more than a saying once your town becomes the site of genocide, as sasa stanisic details in his debut novel, how the soldier repairs the gramophone. Sasa stanisic author of how the soldier repairs the. The naive fiction of sasa stanisic the new york sun. He has authored a novel, several audioplays, short stories, poems, essays and translations. Sasa stanisic 1978 sasa stanisic was born in visegrad, in bosniaherzegovina, in 1978 and has lived in germany since 1992. How the soldier repairs the gramophone english pen.
How the soldier repairs the gramophone by sasa stanisic stanisic fiercely defends the power of the imagination as a weapon to counteract brutal reality, says isobel montgomery. How the soldier repairs the gramophone grove atlantic. He is best known for his novel how the soldier repairs the gramophone, nominated for the prestigious deutscher buchpreis, in 2006. How the soldier repairs the gramophone elena square eyes. How the soldier repairs the gramophone by sasa stanisic grove press, 304 pp. This semiautobiographical novel of the bosnian war became a bestseller in germany, won the leipzig book fair prize, and has.
How the soldier repairs the gramophone, a book that plainly drew on a trove of autobiographical experiences of war, flight and new beginnings. Born in visegrad, bosnia and escaping during its serbian invasion, sasa stanisic charts his debut novel as a whimsical child tenderly mindful of the river drina. How the soldier repairs the gramophone, by sasa stanisic the. Sasa stanisic autor, sprecher luchterhand literaturverlag. Heralded as a sorcerer of narrative foreign policy with an instinct for poetic and intoxicating language freie presse, twentynineyearold sasa stanisic bounded onto the international literary scene to great fanfare and acclaim. He was born in visegrad, bosnia and herzegovina as the son of a bosniak mother and a serbian father. How the soldier repairs the gramophone by sasa stanisic is my book from bosnia and herzegovina for the read the world challenge.
In his debut novel, sasa stanisic recreates an adolescents experience of. Jun 12, 2008 how the soldier repairs the gramophone tells the story of aleksandar krsmanovi, a boy who is growing up in the bosnian town of visegrad but flees with his family to germany in 1992 to escape the war. Sasa stanisic wins 2019 german book prize publishing. Stanisic, sasa how the soldier repairs the gramophone. How the soldier repairs the gramophone, his first novel, was published in 2006 to wide acclaim. Witness to war and peace, the drina remains the steadying thread coursing through a tale and territory bloodily torn apart by conflict. Sasa stanisic how the soldier repairs the gramophone 16 sasa stanisics debut novel, how the soldier repairs the gramophone in marvelous english translation by anthea bell i couldnt get my hands on a german version, is full of these fabulous hairpin turns between the grandiose and the everyday which makes up much of.
For young aleksandar the best magician in the nonaligned states and painter of unfinis. How the soldier repairs the gramophone with a crackling. Sasa stanisic deliberately wrote his book in german. He was born in visegrad, bosnia and herzegovina, and moved to germany as a refugee of the bosnian war when he was 14 years old. Buy a cheap copy of how the soldier repairs the gramophone book by sasa stanisic. In 2019, he received the german book prize for his novel. Book with five or more words in the title the long way to a small, angry planet fits this one again, as does how the soldier repairs the gramophone by sasa stanisic. Anthea bell fleeing the violence and destruction of his native bosnia with his family for safety in germany, aleksandar krsmanovi. How the soldier repairs the gramophone is his first novel and was shortlisted for the german book award as well as winning several other major prizes with translations into 24 languages. In sasa stanisics bittersweet, musical novel about a boy growing up in.
Stanisic, sasa how the soldier repairs the gramophone german. Unlike tolstoys masterpiece, however, this book is about the devastating effects that wars have on the landless and powerless and sometimes faceless and voiceless members of a society. Sasa stanisic how the soldier repairs the gramophone novel. The hardcover publication of how the soldier repairs the gramophone launched stanisic as an exciting and important new voice in literary fiction and earned exuberant praise from readers and critics alike. Aug 28, 2006 sasa stanisic how the soldier repairs the gramophone novel. In 1992, his family escaped the war and came to germany. Aug 27, 2016 sasa stanisic how the soldier repairs the gramophone 16 sasa stanisics debut novel, how the soldier repairs the gramophone in marvelous english translation by anthea bell i couldnt get my hands on a german version, is full of these fabulous hairpin turns between the grandiose and the everyday which makes up much of.
Jul 17, 2008 you cant go home again, is much more than a saying once your town becomes the site of genocide, as sasa stanisic details in his debut novel, how the soldier repairs the gramophone. How the soldier repairs the gramophone stanisicsasa on. People are always excited to discover a young author, as if he or she were a rare kind of beetle that spent all its time lurking under rocks and waiting for the revelation. I dont actually have many books with five words or more, so this was a bit of a struggle to find some options. We spoke with him about war experience and how much it. We follow aleksandar from bosnia to germany and back again in sasa stanisics remarkable debut, how the soldier repairs the gramophone seamlessly translated by anthea bell, an energetic, magical romp through a childhood interruptedand shapedby the bosnian war. How the soldier repairs the gramophone tells the story of aleksandar krsmanovi, a boy who is growing up in the bosnian town of visegrad but flees with his family to germany in 1992 to escape the war. Jul 29, 2008 born in visegrad, bosnia and escaping during its serbian invasion, sasa stanisic charts his debut novel as a whimsical child tenderly mindful of the river drina. There are reminders throughout the book that racial conflicts are senselessthe croats, serbs and muslims of bosnia found ways to live in peace for years, after.
Sasa stanisics how the soldier repairs the gramophone words. He has published short stories, audio plays and essays, is engaged in literary performances and theatre. Oct 15, 2019 this is the second time stanisic has received attention from the german book prize. For young aleksandar krsmanovic, his grandfather slavkos stories endow life in visegrad with a kaleidoscopic brilliance. Sasa stanisic was born in visegrad, a small town in bosnia which was the. This book has been very much hyped translated into 32 languages, the publisher proclaims and it certainly is quite a good novel but not, i. It nevertheless contains a high degree of fictionalization. He was born in visegrad, bosnia and herzegovina, and moved to germany as a refugee of.
May 15, 2008 sasa stanisic was born 1978 in visegard in bosniaherzegovina and lives in germany since 1992. How the soldier repairs the gramophonethe tale of a boy who experiences the war in bosnia and finds the secret to survival in. Now in paperback, stanisics debut about a boy who experiences the bosnian war and finds the secret to survival in language and stories is bound to dazzle a whole new readership. Pdf how the soldier repairs the gramophone 2008 book. He has written an acclaimed novel in german which was published in english under the title how the soldier repairs the gramophone. His debut novel, how the soldier repairs the gramophone, was acclaimed by readers and critics alike, and has been translated into thirty languages so far. How the soldier repairs the gramophone is more about impressions, feelings, emotions, than it is about a series of specific events. A decade later he returns to bosnia to track down a muslim friend, asija.
This is the second time stanisic has received attention from the german book prize. How the soldier repairs the gramophone by sasa stanisic. In some ways, it reminded me of markus zusaks the book thief in its abstractness, but the world war ii work has much more of a concrete tale than this one. This is the second novel by sasa stanisic, born in bosnia in 1978 and a teenage refugee from the civil war in former yugoslavia. In his debut novel, sasa stanisic recreates an adolescents experience of the civil war. I actually had a different writer in mind ivo andric, who won the nobel prize for literature in 1961 but when i saw this in the bookshop i switched. I enjoyed much of how the soldier repairs the gramophone because i thought stanisics childhood observations of war and culture were so interesting. How the soldier repairs the gramophone 9780802144225. How the soldier repairs the gramophone real life as a foil for literature. Sasa stanisic was born 1978 in visegard in bosniaherzegovina and lives in germany since 1992. Sasa stanisics english penchampioned how the soldier repairs the gramophone comes from this stable.
How the soldier repairs the gramophonethe tale of a boy who. Extract how the soldier repairs the gramophone by sasa stanisic. With how the soldier repairs the gramophone, sasa stanisic has written an exuberant and extravagant burlesque tragicomedy novel about the collapse of bosnia and of german exile, of homeland and of life in a foreign country. Since stanisi grew up in visegrad and moved to germany in 1992 as a fourteenyearold, i assume it is somewhat autobiographical. How the soldier repairs the gramophone is a modern variation on that theme, pulling back the curtains on the horrors of the balkan conflicts in the 1990s. How the soldier repairs the gramophone book by sasa stanisic.
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